


The Book Poll

by fawatson



Category: RENAULT Mary - Works
Genre: Gen, ITOWverse, Metafiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-09-12
Updated: 2009-09-12
Packaged: 2018-05-22 09:23:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6073905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fawatson/pseuds/fawatson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Visiting the clubhouse, Laurie's mother is intrigued to discover that the Maryrenaultfics community has been holding a poll on which of Renault's novels to discuss next.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Book Poll

She had really come for a couple of eggs.  Of course it was a kind of cheating; she knew that.  The ration was quite strict.  Only the other day Gareth had preached from the pulpit about the iniquities of the black market.  But ... well ... Laurie was coming for a visit later today, bringing that charming Naval friend of his with him, and it would be nice to be able to give them each an egg for breakfast tomorrow morning.  As a treat—it’s not as if she would do this regularly—no, no!  But she couldn’t help notice, when they were here for the party in June, that rationing didn’t seem to be such an issue at the clubhouse.  So here she was: ‘borrowing’, as neighbours do sometimes, especially within a close-knit community.  Except that now she was here ... well ... it wouldn’t hurt to look....

Lucy turned to the right, instead of the left, and turned the door handle to the study.  The room was deserted, which didn’t surprise her.  It tended to be quieter in the height of summer, and, although the year had turned to autumn and days were getting shorter, the members hadn’t yet started their next venture.  A computer rested in a nook against one wall; it was kept permanently on and logged into **[maryrenaultfics](http://community.livejournal.com/maryrenaultfics/)** , just in case one of the characters visited (not all had been as quick to take to modern amenities as Simonides; some people still weren’t quite sure how to turn the machine on). 

Lucy’s eyebrows arched in surprise as she scrolled through the most recent posts:  three different polls about which book to discuss next.  She felt rather gratified at the interest that continued to be shown in her novel.  After all, there had already been two chapter-by-chapter discussions about it.  However, it looked as if, this time, one of the Ancient Greece novels would be chosen instead.  She supposed that was only fair, odd though some of those characters were.  She guessed they must have their own place in the canon, even if she couldn’t quite see the point of it.  Still, Jesus preached tolerance and said one should love one’s neighbour. 

Nonetheless, really!  She might not have the benefit of the Oxford education Laurie had enjoyed, but she wasn’t a fool.   _“I'd rather marry Straike,”_ indeed!  And:   _“Mrs. Straike #1, Mrs. Straike #2...”_!  As if she couldn’t tell this was a slur on her husband!

A slight scraping noise behind her alerted Lucy that she was no longer alone.  She turned in her chair to see **my_cnnr** and **trueriver** coming into the study.  They were talking animatedly about their plans for the next book discussion. 

“Some new icons, I thought....”  my_cnnr’s voice trailed away mid-sentence, as she saw who was waiting in front of her. 

“One with my husband’s picture on it, by any chance?” asked Lucy....

**Author's Note:**

> The book poll (Poll #1452628) was announced by the moderators of [maryrenaultfics](http://maryrenaultfics.livejournal.com) on 3 September 2009. The novel selected for discussion was _The Last of the Wine_.


End file.
